Mentors, Mentees, and Becoming an Expert

Pick up what they put down#

Experts notice genuine learners. They’ll want to help you. Don’t tell them; they just became your mentors. This is so important that I’m repeating it: pick up what they put down.

Think of them as offering up quests for you to complete. When they say, “Anyone willing to help with __ __?”, you’re that kid in the first row with your hand already raised.

These are senior engineers, some of the most in-demand people in tech. They’ll spend time with you one-on-one if you help them out.

📝 P.S. There’s always something they need help on— by definition, they are too busy to do everything they want to do.

You can’t pay for this stuff. They’ll teach you for free. Most people miss what’s right in front of them, but not you.

Why seniors will teach you#

“With so many junior devs out there, why would they help me?” you ask.

Because you learn in public. By teaching you, they teach many. You amplify them. You have the one thing they don’t: a beginner’s mind. See how this works?

Become a mentor#

At some point, people will start asking you for help because of all the stuff you put out. 99% of developers are "dark,” meaning they don’t write or speak or participate in public tech discourse. But you do. You must be an expert, right? Your impostor syndrome will strike here but ignore it. Answer as best as you can. When you’re stuck or wrong, pass it up to your mentors.

Become an expert#

Eventually, you will run out of mentors and will just have to keep solving problems on your own, based on your accumulated knowledge. You’re still putting out content, though. Notice the pattern?

📝 P.S. Eventually, they’ll want to pay for your help too. A lot more than you’d expect.